That’s a fair question to ask any law firm. We believe a client and law firm should agree up front on the terms of the law firm’s representation and should have a common understanding of the likely fees that will be incurred for the work to be performed. We hope this page will provide some guidance on whether this firm will be a good business fit for prospective clients.

Here’s how our firm works:

• Our Philosophy on Value. We aspire to be the best intellectual property lawyers available in Central Virginia and to be very responsive to our clients’ needs. We provide outstanding client service. In exchange, we enjoy representing clients who appreciate the quality and quick-turnaround we offer and who, in turn, pay their bills in full, on time and without unwarranted hassles.
  
  
• How to Initiate Contact with Us. Please do not initiate contact with us by email. If you are a prospective client, please start by calling us so we can make certain we would not have a conflict of interest in representing you. Do not send us any email with information you consider confidential unless and until we have agreed to represent you. Such email will not create an attorney-client relationship with our firm, and we will have no obligation to keep that information confidential unless we agree to represent you.
  
  
• What Happens on First Contact. When we receive a telephone call from a prospective new client, we must start the conversation by determining who we might represent (people and companies) and what other parties might have interests adverse to the party we might represent. We have to do this so we do not create a conflict with any of our existing clients. We must do this regardless of whether you choose to hire our firm, because if you tell us confidential information, our receipt of it might preclude us from representing current clients in new matters or other prospective clients.
  
  
• Our Time is Our Only Product. We often receive telephone calls from folks who don’t seem interested in hiring an attorney but “just want a little free advice.” Please realize that our firm’s only product is the time of its attorneys. We generally charge clients for the time we spend consulting with them about their legal needs; indeed, we feel that such consultation often is the most valuable service we provide to clients. We have many years of intellectual property and technology law experience and work hard to stay current in these fields, so we often can provide valuable advice on the spot. We don’t mind spending a few minutes off the clock with prospective clients (in an initial telephone call or in-office visit) to determine whether we likely will be able to help that client achieve its legal goals. Yet, please understand that we cannot respond to folks just looking for free advice. Even if we had the time to give out free advice, our malpractice insurance carrier would be quite unhappy with us if we did so.
  
  
• Fee Agreement. Before beginning legal representation (such as on-the-clock consultation in person or by phone), we require that every new client sign a fee agreement with our firm. This fee agreement describes in full the business terms of the relationship between our firm and its clients. Click here to view a copy of our current fee agreement (in .pdf). You should carefully review the fee agreement before making a decision as to whether to hire our firm. This posting of our fee agreement is for informational purposes only and is not an offer to you. We will not have an attorney-client relationship with you until we agree to represent you. We may revise this agreement template in the future or revise it before offering it to you. Here are some highlights of our fee agreement:
  
  
  • We expect our bills to be paid in full within 30 days of sending. We cannot finance your legal fees for you.
    
    
  • With the exception of some flat fees for trademark work, we charge hourly fees for our services, including time spent consulting with clients (whether on the phone, by email or in person). We offer flat fees for some aspects of trademark work – please see our “Trademark Information” page.
    
    
  • Unless we agree otherwise, the fees we estimate are only estimates. It’s hard to predict exactly how much time (and, thus, money) it will take to perform many legal tasks because no two legal matters are exactly alike and different clients require different levels of consultation time. Nonetheless, we will try to not exceed estimated fees significantly unless we have your advance permission to do so.
    
    
  • We may ask you to make an advance fee payment prior to performing work for you. Whether we do so depends on the magnitude of work to be performed and how secure we feel about the likelihood of payment being made on time.
    
    
• Are We Expensive? In relation to other capable intellectual property attorneys, no. Yet, in general, legal fees are expensive. Only rarely will our legal fees for a matter be under $1000. Our law firm is a small business, so we empathize with the budgetary pressures faced by individuals and other small businesses. We believe our rates are lower than rates charged by professionals with similar credentials working at large law firms. We also believe our extensive experience enables us to work fairly efficiently, and far more efficiently and effectively than lawyers who only dabble in intellectual property matters as part of a broader legal practice. Yet, we understand that our likely fees will be significant expenditures for many prospective clients. That’s why we strive to reach an understanding up front about what likely fees will be.

© 2006 Leading-Edge Law Group, PLC.  All rights reserved.